Pages

August 22, 2016

Sausage Party (2016)

Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Edward Norton, Salma Hayek, et al

I don't want to open by saying this a stupid movie, because that would be overly dismissive of the things it got right. But it certainly seemed as though Seth Rogen wanted to make it as stupid as possible.

Let me clarify: I strongly dislike Seth Rogan. And by that, I mean I hate him. I hate the characters he plays, I hate the movies he's in, and I really, really hate listening to his voice. So I probably would have automatically liked this movie more had literally anyone else voiced the main sausage, Frank.

Alas, I was not so lucky, so the movie was spent imagining his dopey face making sexually suggestive passes at a hot dog bun voiced by Kristen Wiig, who apparently could not stop herself from doing that thing where she half sings her lines. Ever since I read this article, I can't stop wondering how many actors force screenwriters to write in little character quirks to match the actor's "trademark." Ugh.

Voice acting aside (don't even get me started on the casting of Michael Cera), the movie had potential. Considering the number of Biblical epics Hollywood makes us sit through, it was refreshing to see an unapologetic representation of atheism. It was cleverly done by using food and human consumption of it as an allegory for faith and religion.

BUT, I also feel inclined to say that this movie does no favors to the prevailing feeling that atheists are smug and condescending towards people of faith. (Not saying it doesn't also often go the other way.) People take religion very seriously and while I understand this is sort of a silly movie, it tackles a pretty hefty topic and I wish they had treated it with a touch more reverence for a more effective message.

I realize how asinine that sounds considering yes, I am talking about a movie that features animated food items talking about boning each other every five seconds. The humor, while occasionally showcasing some brilliance in the use of puns and cultural stereotyping, mostly consists of dick jokes and stuff Seth McFarlane would find funny. I guess my appreciation of humor extends beyond what a stoned frat guy would find funny. But I suppose I should have known I wasn't its target audience when every preview beforehand was for a horror movie.

All in all, the movie was certainly interesting and different enough to hold my attention. I think it was quirky and silly and yes, very stupid. But also funny. Maybe I would have had a different opinion of it had I been completely stoned, much like the writers probably were when they wrote this.

Final word: It's a love it or hate it type of movie. And the ending is fucking weird.